Lamborghini ST: Jem Hepworth shows clear progress with Pro-class P6 finish at Laguna Seca
- RACERS
- May 5
- 4 min read
Jem Hepworth continued her progression in the 2026 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season with a solid performance at Laguna Seca, securing a best result of sixth place in the Pro class in Race 2 and demonstrating clear improvements after a challenging opening race.
Jem Hepworth continued her progression in the 2026 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season with a solid performance at Laguna Seca, securing a best result of sixth place in the Pro class in Race 2 and demonstrating clear improvements after a challenging opening race. The second round of the season marked in fact another important step in her sophomore campaign as she quickly adapts to the highly competitive Pro category.
Hepworth had opened her 2026 season at Sebring with a top-ten finish alongside Tatiana Calderón, as the RAFA Racing all-female duo stepped up to the Pro class for the first time. It was a learning-focused weekend, particularly for Calderón in her first outing in the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2, but the pair showed promise with a solid result in class while debuting their distinctive shark-teeth livery.
For Laguna Seca, however, there was a change in the RAFA Racing lineup, as Calderón was unavailable due to a clashing commitment. Hepworth was instead joined by Tyler Gonzalez in the #2 Lamborghini Huracán, with the new pairing still competing in the Pro class.
The weekend began with steady progress in practice. In FP1, Hepworth set the eighth-fastest time in Pro, although Gonzalez completed the majority of the running as he familiarized himself with the car. The duo improved in FP2, moving up to sixth in class, indicating good potential heading into qualifying.
In Qualifying 1, Gonzalez took the wheel and showed immediate pace, briefly holding provisional pole in the early stages. However, the session was interrupted by a red flag after the sister RAFA Racing car of Porter stopped at Turn 2 with a technical issue, halting the session with five minutes remaining and preventing further improvements. Gonzalez was classified sixth in Pro and eighth overall.
Qualifying 2 saw Hepworth take over driving duties, but the session was again disrupted, this time by a red flag caused by Shahi at Turn 11 with three minutes to go. Hepworth’s best lap of 1:24.730 placed her 12th in Pro and 17th overall.
Race 1 took place on Saturday afternoon under cloudy skies, with Gonzalez starting sixth in the Pro class. At the start, he was aggressive but was forced onto the dirt at Turn 2, managing to keep the car on track but losing a couple of positions overall. On lap two, Avery Towns’ #55 Pro car went off and became stranded in the gravel at Turn 3, triggering a full course yellow.
Following the restart with 37 minutes remaining, Gonzalez began to rebuild momentum, running close behind Morey in the fight for the top five in Pro, with Giano Taurino also applying pressure from behind. As the pit window opened with 30 minutes to go, Gonzalez stayed out for one additional lap before pitting on lap 12 from sixth in class, handing over to Hepworth.
Jem rejoined seventh in Pro, with several cars ahead yet to pit, but her race soon took a hit. At Turn 5, she was caught in an incident when the #36 car of Heffring spun in front of her. Showing excellent reactions, Hepworth avoided contact but was forced off track, spinning in the process and losing valuable time and positions, dropping to ninth in Pro and 18th overall.
She worked to regain pace in the closing stages but remained caught behind traffic and ultimately finished ninth in the Pro class.
Sunday’s Race 2 brought mixed conditions, with a damp track following earlier rain and overcast skies. Hepworth lined up 12th in the Pro class, aiming for a stronger result.
The race began behind the safety car and went green on lap two, immediately featuring chaos at Turn 2 as Persing encountered trouble, with the #1 WTR car ending up in the gravel. Hepworth navigated the incident cleanly and moved up to ninth in Pro, benefiting further as Conwright encountered issues and pitted, while Taurino spun at the final corner.
Continuing her clean opening stint, Hepworth advanced to eighth in Pro as Towns went off, climbing to 12th overall after gaining multiple positions in the early laps. She then found herself battling Staab’s AM entry while also managing the pressure from the recovering Persing.
A dramatic moment followed when Elias De La Torre’s car caught fire, bringing out a full course yellow with 29 minutes remaining, just before the pit window. Hepworth was running seventh in Pro at the time of the neutralization.
Racing resumed on lap 17 amid further spins, and Hepworth capitalized once again, before pitting from eighth in Pro after a strong and consistent stint. Tyler Gonzalez took over for the final phase of the race.
Gonzalez quickly made progress, clearing Lawley and moving up to sixth in Pro. He ran approximately one second behind Hampus Eriksson, but the Swede passed Gdovic, leaving Gonzalez briefly stuck behind the ProAm car of Siderman.
In the closing stages, another incident saw AM class leader Bullock go off at Turn 9 and become stranded in the gravel, bringing out a full course yellow with two laps remaining. The race ended under caution, securing sixth place in the Pro class for the #2 RAFA Racing entry.
It marked a solid points haul for Hepworth and Gonzalez, with a sixth place as best finish to date this year and securing seven championship points over the round. Overall, the weekend represented a clear step forward for Hepworth, particularly in Race 2 where she delivered a fast and consistent stint, moving up the order and continuing her progress in the Pro class.
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America championship will resume at Watkins Glen on June 25–27, where Hepworth will aim to build further momentum.
